Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Florida softshell turtles are harvested in large numbers for the food trade, both for domestic consumption and, increasingly, to supply Asian markets. Between July 1990 and July 1991, 3600 softshell turtles were purchased for meat in south Florida. Today there are breeding centers in southern Florida to raise turtles for Chinese markets (Bonin et al., 2006), but wild turtles are often taken to resupply breeding farms. Apalone ferox is the most heavily harvested turtle species in Florida.